1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to heat exchangers. More specifically, the present invention relates to heat exchangers useful for analyzing samples, such as condensate samples.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heat exchangers can have many uses in chemical plants and refineries. Most exchangers use at least two conduits in which a cooler stream and a warmer stream are used to force heat exchange between the two streams. Traditionally, the cooler stream is in the “outer” area of the exchanger, while the warmer stream is in the “inner” area of the exchanger. Many times the operating conditions of such heat exchangers can cause problems, such as pluggage or fouling due to precipitation of salts, which ultimately result in failure of a part of the heat exchanger. Other causes of pluggage or fouling can include the precipitation of salts in areas of the heat exchanger, such as in the annulus from the cooling water due to localized high temperature, and stagnant areas along the coil cooler due to its configuration of having inner tube to outer tube surface contact. Such pluggage or fouling can affect the quality of the streams contained within the heat exchangers. This is particularly problematic when the streams are required to be maintained within established specifications.
A need exists for configurations and methods of operating heat exchangers that minimize the possibility of failures due to pluggage in the piping. A need also exists for configurations and methods of operating heat exchangers that will reduce the potential for fouling in the streams contained within the heat exchangers. It would be advantageous if such configurations and methods of operating the heat exchangers were simple and relatively inexpensive to implement.